"In modern society, some people are destined to be without jobs." Shinji Sato thought for a while and replied, "This is not something you need to worry about, leader."
"Yes, this is already an established fact, and I don't have the ability to solve it." Yuanye smiled bitterly, "Even with my status, when it comes to solving this kind of problem, I will probably be crowned. The title of "unworthy" is really unfounded."
"It's just that I really didn't expect it. Although there were signs before, it was so clearly understood in 2077 that the cause of overproduction was actually labor itself rather than the lack of demand caused by exploitation." Yuan Yeyao He shook his head and said, "Really, I don't understand it at all."
"What do you mean?" Shinji Sato is of course not interested in these sociological theories, but he knows how to flatter well. A good way to flatter in situations like this is to be a good listener and ask questions sincerely, "Can you please Chief, can you please explain in detail?"
"Have you ever heard of the Great Depression of the last century? It must have been almost a hundred and fifty years ago."
"I heard a little about it in financial history class."
"Then let me put it simply. When a product is produced, the employer has to pay a commission to the producer. This is the simplest model." Yuan Ye thought for a while and said, "And when a commission cannot buy When products are produced, overproduction occurs, and the Great Depression occurs.”
"In the past, this was considered to be the cause of exploitation by capitalists, that is, employers." Yuanye continued, "Because if you think about it, everyone is working but cannot afford the products they produce, so it must be because the commission is low. , where did the lost commission go? Of course it was with the employer, a very simple reason."
“Of course, there are also reasons such as resource misallocation, and the proportion of these reasons is not small. It can be said that overproduction is largely caused by resource misallocation, but let’s not talk about this first and return to commissions. Here comes the question." Yuan Ye took another sip of water and asked a little abruptly, "Do you think those who don't work can't eat?"
"...Of course." Nobuji Sato was a little confused, but he still nodded and said, "No one will deny this."
"Yes, so in the final analysis, the relief method chosen by the country in the past was to 'pay enough commissions' to activate demand and get the economy running again." Yuan Ye explained, "But it is different now."
"With the development of technology, production efficiency is getting higher and higher, and only a few people can produce a very large amount of consumer goods." Yuan Ye raised a finger, "If everyone is put into production, then the output will be It is absolutely impossible for everyone to consume all the goods, and excess will occur immediately. This is not a question of whether the commission is sufficient."
“In the past, people criticized capitalists because they owned a large amount of general equivalents but did not consume more goods.” Yuanye gave an example, “In 2077, if everyone is put into production together, then everyone will Faced with the dilemma of capitalists in the past, astronomical deflation would occur due to extreme overproduction. People would find that although the equivalent in their hands seemed very small in the past, they can now purchase products in an almost unlimited amount - if modern society If there is no instant collapse.”
"In order to avoid this outcome, only a small number of people are destined to have the right to work in 2077." Yuanye continued to ask, "It's still the same question, do you think those who don't work will not be able to eat?"
"Yes." Although he was already a little hesitant, Sato Shinji's simple world view still made him give a positive answer.
"Okay, if in this case, you still insist that labor is the only thing that creates value, then you will face a dilemma." Yuan Ye asked, "If the world only allows a small number of people to work, what about the rest of the people? ?What about people who don’t work? Doesn’t their value exist?”
"If we follow the theory that labor is the only thing that creates value, the remaining people who don't create value will naturally not get paid." Yuan Ye shook his head, "This is even more terrifying, because the economic operation of modern society It is actually based on demand, and if demand shrinks, modern society will also collapse in an instant.”
"This is the current paradox. Since neoliberalism, the world's economics has not been updated for almost a hundred years." Yuanye said helplessly, "Now the leadership of major political entities does not have any good solutions. It can continuously spread money, distribute the equivalent directly to the hands of people who do not perform labor, and forcibly maintain their needs to ensure that the economic system of modern society does not collapse."
“If labor is the only thing that creates value, this is actually exploiting those who work, because people who don’t work create no value. Without creating value, how can they get paid? What’s even more ridiculous is that , only this kind of exploitation can maintain the modern economic system from collapsing, and allow the labor of those who work to produce value." Yuanye smiled bitterly, "This is completely different from the education I received, and this is what I don't understand. reason."
"What kind of education have you received?" Sato Shinji asked, "Yes, although you are not very old, leader, you must be from a famous family. It is normal for you to think about these issues due to the education you received."
——I am obviously wearing the uniform of Yingzhou Public High School, so don’t make up your mind.
Yuanye complained in his heart, but he knew that explanations were useless, so he gave up. What's more, the public high school where he attended did not teach this kind of knowledge. This was the education he received in his previous life, and he had already let it slip.
Sato Shinji also doesn’t understand this aspect of knowledge. It’s not because of the Yingzhou official ban in 2077. No matter how much the ban is imposed, it will not be done to a top student like him at the University of Tokyo. It’s really because various disciplines are now highly differentiated and the gap in knowledge is deep. It's terrible. People like him who study applied finance don't even take financial history, otherwise they wouldn't even have a partial understanding of the Great Depression.
"Forget it, let's not talk about this anymore." Yuan Ye sighed and changed the topic, "The most terrifying moment has not yet come."
"The scariest moment?"
"The moment when intelligent machines completely replace all production and the concept of labor is completely eliminated." Yuanye drank the water in the bottle. "Maybe it will be the end of humankind, or maybe it will be the beginning of a new life. Who knows?"
“Before that, most people, especially those who have been excluded from the production sequence and do not work, all they can wait for is to receive daily relief and serve as [demands] in the economic machine called modern society. Just provide wet parts." Yuan Ye was stunned for a moment, and seemed to suddenly think of something, "Relief... I have thought of how to resettle the laid-off workers."
